


The Day After The Peculiar Night

by TheLodgersEnthusiast (Morgan_Molliniere)



Series: Escapism [2]
Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Illnesses, Injury, aaaaaand frankenstein is still a dumbass, and i still tried, i think we're getting into the good stuff now, still self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26155660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgan_Molliniere/pseuds/TheLodgersEnthusiast
Summary: After the crazy night at Blackfog, Frankenstein doesn't trust Grye to keep his word to not bring her back to the Society.
Relationships: Dr. Frankenstein (The Glass Scientists) & Original Character(s)
Series: Escapism [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899346
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. Can I Trust You

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing and rewriting this story for a bit, trying to get things to a point of satisfaction. Well, I can't say I have reached that point for the succeeding chapters, but this one is pretty satisfactory. To me, anyway.
> 
> Enjoy the story!

When Victoria Frankenstein woke up that morning, she had gotten the feeling that she had woken up from a pleasant dream that she couldn't remember. Not that it mattered – she didn't believe in dreams or premonitions or anything of the sort. But if it were so pleasant, she wanted to recall it.

But she had woken up anyway, and so the next thing that she processed was that this was not the attic of the Society. And as a result, the sunlight coming in from the nearby window was too bright. She raised a hand to block the sunlight from her eyes, and then turned away – and that was when she saw him.

He was sleeping in a chair beside her bed, his head on top of his folded arms. She guessed that he had been watching over her for the better part of the night, and was now catching up on his sleep.

But it wasn't...whoever had popped into her mind first when she saw him. Of course not. This one's name was...William Grye, right?

Slowly, she moved to sit up, taking the now-warm cloth from her forehead. She then put a hand to her forehead – her fever had gone down. She then yawned a little, and looked back at Grye.

“Doctor?” she asked.

He began to stir, and then opened his eyes, before looking up at her tiredly. “Miss Victoria?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. “Did you sleep well?”

“I suppose so,” Frankenstein said. “You did not have to stay up caring for me, you know.”

“But your fever went down,” Grye said, straightening up. He yawned as well, before continuing, “I figure that has to count for something.”

She stared at him, and then shook her head. “Well, whatever. Are we getting breakfast?”

“I'd hope so,” Grye said. He grinned at her, and then stood up. “I'll check on it, anyway. Stay here, I won't be long.”

She nodded, and then he walked over to the door before leaving the room. When he left, she looked down at her knees.

This was silly. Letting herself be helped by someone who wouldn't leave her alone? She didn't need help. She didn't need anyone. How could she trust him not to bring her back to the Society, after all? He was just saying things to make her feel better.

“ _Because I don't want you to feel scared.”_

Frankenstein huffed to herself. She wasn't scared.

She got out of bed, and then realized that she wasn't wearing her boots, either. Did Grye pull them off while she was sleeping? He didn't have to, she thought. She found them at the side of the bed, and put them on, before grabbing her coat, scarf, and gloves, before putting them on as well.

Before she could do anything else, however, a knock sounded on the door. She looked up just as the door opened.

“They're going to bring breakfast up–” Grye paused as he saw her ready to leave. “...Soon.”

Her eyes darted away. “You didn't think I would stay here forever with you, did you?”

“Well, of course not,” Grye said, closing the door behind him a little so it was left ajar. “I just didn't think you would be getting ready to leave so soon.”

“I don't like it here,” she said simply. “I want to leave this place."

“We can discuss that after breakfast,” Grye said calmly. “And _we're_ going to leave this place.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think you're going anywhere with me?”

“Because I'm worried about your health?”

“That can't possibly be it,” Frankenstein told him.

“What else is there?” Grye asked. “I thought we had already established last night that I don't have any ulterior motives.”

She crossed her arms. “I'm still not satisfied.”

He sighed, and then walked closer to her. “I understand that you don't trust me,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “But aren't you willing to try? Isn't that why you pulled me into the hot air balloon when we escaped Blackfog, and bandaged my wound?”

She realized she shouldn't have let him run his mouth.

“What – what does it matter to you?” she asked.

“You could have left me, but you didn't.” He looked into her eyes. “Doesn't that mean you want to try trusting someone, at least?”

She looked into his eyes. There was a strange sensation in her stomach, but it wasn't nausea. Yet she found herself wishing that it was. She then realized that she had been staring at him, and so opened her mouth–

–and that was when the innkeeper arrived and pushed the door open wider, with a tray of food in her hands.

“...Am I interrupting something?” she asked.

Grye looked at her, and then moved away from Frankenstein. “No, you've come at the perfect time.” He walked over to her, and took the tray from her hands. “Thank you for the meal.”

The innkeeper shrugged, and then walked out the door. When she closed the door behind her, Grye turned to face Frankenstein again.

“Better start eating, before it gets cold,” he said. He then walked to the table in the room, and put the tray down on it. “I'm willing to wager you didn't have much to eat last night, and you're hungry now.”

“I am not–”

She was cut off, however, by a grumble from her stomach. She looked down at it, and then put a hand over it.

“You want to eat?” Grye asked.

“Just a bit,” Frankenstein relented, still a bit huffy. With that, the two of them sat down at the table, and they began eating – a little ravenously on her part, one might add.

“How is it?” Grye asked, after taking a few bites.

“Not any better than what I've been having before,” Frankenstein said, even as she was eating quite a lot. Not that she would admit that most food tasted good when she was hungry.

She eventually finished her food earlier than Grye, and burped loudly. That earned a chuckle from him. She blushed, and then frowned. “Why are you laughing?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he said, stopping. He then waved his hands, blushing a little as well. “I just felt like laughing...”

She huffed. “I thought you would have been more of a gentleman to not comment on it.”

“Well, you certainly don't have very good manners either,” Grye pointed out. “I mean, I don't burp so loudly after a meal. Or at least, I cover my mouth.”

“Are you trying to prove yourself better than me?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “But it seems to me that _you_ are doing so.”

“...” She raised her chin. “You can't talk to me like that.”

“You may be the one in need of care, but here we're both equals. I would appreciate it if you don't talk down down to me like that.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Yes. And I'm sorry about that.”

“Sorry?” She scoffed. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“For the blood on your hands.”

“Ha! You believe what that woman at Blackfog told us?”

“You believed her up until she said you had blood on your hands.”

“Just shut up about it, alright?” Frankenstein said. “I don't want you to keep repeating those boring words.”

“Alright.”

He went back to eating. Frankenstein thought that was...strangely easy to shut him up. Maybe he was just a pushover. Or maybe he wanted to defer to her. But why would he want to do that? He made it clear that he didn't care about the fact that she was Frankenstein, and in fact held contempt for the person she was in the book.

He noticed her staring at him just as he finished his food, and raised his eyebrows. “Hm?” he asked with a full mouth.

“...Are you really not going to bring me back to the Society?” she asked.

Grye swallowed. “I'm a man of my word, Miss Victoria,” he said. “And you seemed, in fact, frightened by the prospect of going back to the Society.”

“I'm not frightened of that dumb old place!” she said.

“Then why don't you want to go back?” Grye asked.

“...” She looked away. “What about you? You don't have anything to gain from helping me stay away. In fact, you can't stay away from Creature forever. Believe me, I know.”

“It's fine,” he said. “I just want to help you.”

She glanced back at him – specifically, at his wounded arm. The bandages seemed to have held together through the night, and the wound didn't seem to bother him that much. Or he wasn't showing it. Either way, she stared at it for a moment before looking back up at him.

“Besides, it seems as if someone needs to see things your way,” he went on.

“Heh, you'd be surprised,” she said. “The Lodgers at the Society are enamored with my words. They turned on Dr. Jekyll when I stirred them up!”

Grye looked a little surprised. “You turned them against him? Why?”

“I was there and I could,” she said simply. “Dr. Jekyll has had them living in his shadow for far too long. They need to practice mad science without being concerned about what the bourgeoisie thinks! They need to frighten the populace!”

“Here we go again,” Grye said. “Are you trying to lure me into a debate to get me to disagree with you and end up refusing to help you, in which case you could freely escape from my grasp?”

“...You're reading too much into it, Dr. Grye.”

“Perhaps so,” Grye shrugged. “I don't want you to keep repeating those boring words.”

“Don't turn my own words against me!”

He laughed again, softer this time. “But Miss Victoria, do the Lodgers really see things your way? Or are they using your words as an excuse to stop listening to Jekyll when they had their own reasons to beforehand?”

“Why, of course they see things my way!” she said. “They refused to do the Exhibition when I told them to!”

“You – you mean the Exhibition that the Society has been preparing for a few months?!”

“Yes!” she said. “So there's no way they can't see things my way. I successfully turned them against Dr. Jekyll, and then got them to refuse his whims.”

“...You must really be trying to shock me at every turn, Miss Victoria,” Grye said.

“Impressed yet?” she asked.

He cleared his throat. “No.”

“What?”

“I mean, if you're trying to debate with me, it won't work,” he said. “And if you're trying to get me to agree with you, it won't work, either.”

“Then what are you going to do?” she asked. “I won't allow you to help me because of your delusions that I'm a helpless baby animal.”

“I never said you were helpless,” Grye said. “But I do know that wounded animals have it in their heads that anything that comes for them will try to hurt them, so they lash out and try to escape.”

“...And you think the same for me, huh?”

“Certainly.”

“I don't need you to cure my ailment,” Frankenstein said. “Especially when I know what the cure for my condition is. I can just go back to Blackfog and then leave this damned city with the materials for my cure.”

“...” He sighed. “Well, we're done. We can go out now.”

“Right, then,” she said, standing up from her seat. “Where are you taking me?”

“The doctor,” Grye said. “I think we have to have a professional take a look at the both of us.” He then shrugged, backtracking, “Or just me, if you're really going to refuse.”

She frowned a little, and then sighed. “...As long as you do not take me back to Dr. Jekyll. Or the Society.”

“You have my word, Miss Victoria,” Grye said.

Frankenstein then raised an eyebrow. “You do not have to call me Victoria anymore, now that you know my surname.”

“Why not?” Grye asked. “I think it suits you better.”

She stared at him for a while as he stood up from his chair as well. “I think it is progress, at least, that you're willing to let me take you places,” he said. “Now, we shall be on our way.”

* * *

Frankenstein and Grye walked down the stairs and past the common room of the inn. She noticed that several of them were staring at the two of them, and in turn she did her best to ignore them. If Grye had noticed those people staring, meanwhile, then he didn't voice it; instead, he opted to talk to the innkeeper a bit while he paid her.

Frankenstein's thoughts then wandered over to Grye. Why did he want to help her so badly? Maybe he just wanted to feed a delusion of his that he could help whoever he wanted.

...Still, she was sort of curious as to whether he would keep his promise of not bringing her back to the Society or not.

And he did kind of have a point.

Why did she pull him into the hot air balloon? Why did she bandage his wound? And why did she relent to letting him care for her last night?

Did she really want to be able to trust someone?

But she didn't need that.

Not after...

She paused on the pavement, and then looked down at her hands.

Blood on her hands, huh.

She clenched her hands into fists, and then shook her head. There wasn't any blood on her hands. She hadn't offended any gods. She hadn't killed anyone. She had just done what any other mad scientist should do. She was fine.

Grye turned towards her, and she also looked at him. “Let's go,” he said.

She nodded a bit in acknowledgement, and the two of them went to the door. But to Frankenstein's surprise, when they opened the door, she saw that the street outside was empty of any other people. She looked around, while Grye closed the door behind them.

“What the...?” Frankenstein asked, even as the logical explanation came to her mind.

Large, heavy footsteps came towards them, and they both looked to their right to see Creature coming out of the nearby alleyway.

“There you are,” Creature said, looking down at Frankenstein.

She gulped.


	2. Can I Find A Place To Hide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took a long time to come up with. But it's here now!
> 
> I decided I might expand Bryson's role in this fanfic, as well as Hyde's and Jekyll's - once I figure out what to do with Hyde and Jekyll, anyway.

_The hot air balloon carrying Frankenstein and Grye soon floated far above everyone's heads. Creature watched it fly away, and then turned towards the man in the tattered cape who had been standing behind them._

“ _You,” they said. “I recognize you.”_

“ _Uh...” Edward Hyde said. “Yes, of course you know me.”_

_Creature took a few steps towards Hyde, eventually stopping in front of him and grabbing him by the collar. Then they lifted him up, and glared at him._

“ _You called that man 'Doctor',” Creature told him. “You are familiar with him. Who is he?”_

“ _Who said I was familiar with someone like that?” Hyde said, trying to hold on to Creature's hand, while swinging his legs helplessly._

“ _I am not fooling around. Tell me or else.”_

“ _Alright, alright!” Hyde exclaimed. “But I only know him through Dr. Jekyll, so don't ask me for too many details.” He frowned. “That man was Dr. William Grye. He goes and visits the Society every now and then.” He then shrugged. “I don't really care what he's doing here, as long as he doesn't keep Frankenstein all to himself. I had big plans for her, you know.”_

“ _I don't care about your plans,” Creature said, “but I will find that man and bring Frankenstein back.”_

“ _Hey!” a voice shouted, and Creature and the Lodger beside him saw Rachel Pidgley, holding a knife up to Creature. “Put him down!”_

_Creature and the Lodger stared at her, but only for a moment before Creature rolled their eyes. “You can have him,” they said, dropping him._

_Hyde landed roughly on the ground, and Creature turned away, in the direction where the hot air balloon was heading._

“ _Where are you going?” the Lodger beside them asked._

“ _Don't follow me, Miss Flowers,” Creature told her. “This time, I can find her without the tracker.” Then with that, they went after it._

_Flowers watched them leave, and only turned when she heard footsteps coming next to her._

“ _What happened?” Bryson asked. “I was on my way to the Necromancer's Ball when I heard all this commotion. And that was the Creature, and Hyde...”_

“ _Frankenstein's escaped,” Flowers told him. “And with the help of your friend, I think. According to what Hyde said.”_

“ _Friend?”_

“ _That one that comes to the Society most often. Dr. William...”_

“ _...Grye.”_

* * *

“There you are,” Creature said to Frankenstein.

She gulped, and took a step back. Creature took a few more steps forward, staring down at her. “I'm glad it was easy to find you.”

She grit her teeth together. “I do not care what you say, Creature,” Frankenstein told him. “I'm not going with you to the Society.”

“I haven't even begun to talk with you about what I came here for,” Creature said. “And to be clear, it concerns the man standing next to you.”

Frankenstein turned to Grye, and Grye pointed at himself, looking at Creature. “Me?” he asked.

Creature nodded. “Yes,” they said. “I first followed you two outside of Blackfog. I found your balloon in the East End, but I did not make myself known because I realized it would only exacerbate Frankenstein's condition if she tried to run from me. I then followed you two to the inn, and I saw something strange.”

“Strange?” Frankenstein asked.

They looked at her. “You were complying with him and his treatment without being difficult, as you tended to be before I brought you to the Society,” Creature said. “And what's more, you were helping him with his own wound.”

“O-Of course I helped him with his wound,” she told them. “No one is so heartless.”

“But you admit that you were compliant and helpful last night,” Creature said. “You seemed more at ease with this man in one night than with Dr. Jekyll over the course of an entire week.” They paused for a moment, before continuing, “So I went back to the Society for a while, and prepared to offer you a deal.”

Frankenstein looked unsure, yet at the same time curious. “A deal?”

Creature nodded, and then took out something that had been in their pocket. When Frankenstein saw it, her mouth fell open – it was the canister containing her medicine, along with a piece of paper attached to it.

“You won't have to go back to the Society anymore,” Creature told her. “But you must remain in London for some time, considering you are too weak to travel.”

“And...?”

“We will reside with this man for the week it takes to cure you.”

“Wh-what?” Grye asked. “You want to stay with me?”

“Is there a problem?” Creature asked.

“There is definitely a problem!” Frankenstein cut in. “I don't want to stay any longer in London! Besides, I barely even know this man!”

“Miss Victoria, if I would...”

Creature raised an eyebrow. “You two seem to be already on first name basis.”

Her face turned red. “I never asked him to call me that after he found out who I was!” she yelled. “He just...!”

“You're ill, so you have to stay where you can be treated with care,” Creature said. “And this man seems to be good to you.”

“I did offer you my flat, if you're willing,” Grye told her.

She turned towards him. “You're actually willing to go along with this?”

“I want to help you, Miss Victoria,” Grye said. “My flat is not so small that it can't accommodate a few more people, especially if one of them is sick.”

“You said we were going to a doctor,” Frankenstein said.

“I can just ask him to come to my flat,” Grye said. “I figured you didn't really want to see another doctor, anyway, so it could just be for my benefit only.”

She stared at Grye, stunned. Then she looked up at Creature. They tilted their head towards him. She took a deep breath, and then frowned deeply.

“I suppose I could stay with him,” she said, gesturing towards Grye “But only for a few days.”

Grye brightened. “Oh, thank goodness!” he said. “Now you don't have to go back to the Society, after all.”

“It might be better than having Dr. Jekyll fuss over me every day, at least,” she commented.

“I have the notes on how to administer the medicine, so I think we will be alright with this arrangement.” Creature then put the medicine and paper in their pocket. “Now, we should get going.”

Grye nodded. Meanwhile, Frankenstein wondered just what she had gotten into.

* * *

The last time Frankenstein had been in the city sewers, she had been unconscious. So she didn't quite remember it smelling this bad. She was glad Creature was carrying her – she already felt like throwing up amid all this filth, and her illness didn't make her feel any better.

She did not expect, either, that Grye would be the one guiding her and Creature through the sewers.

“I thought you said you were a professor, Dr. Grye,” she said. “A respectable man with a respectable job.”

“I am a professor,” Grye told her, “but you forget, I'm the one who showed you to Blackfog. I know the sewers; I have friends in low places, so to speak.”

“Wow,” she remarked. “I wonder just how knowledgeable you are with the nastier parts of London.”

“Knowledgeable enough.” Here Grye stopped under a manhole and a ladder. “I think this is the manhole nearest my apartment.”

“How do you know?”

He smiled at her. “I'll check to be sure.” With that, he took a hold of the ladder (wincing a little, given his injury), and began climbing up.

Frankenstein watched him ascend the ladder, and move the manhole cover aside. Then he peeked up out of the manhole, and scanned the area for a while – before surprise appeared on his face, and he quickly lowered his head.

“Um...what shall I call you?” Grye asked, looking at Creature.

“I don't much care,” Creature told him. “What is it?”

“Right – uh...” He climbed down a little. “One of the Lodgers of the Society is out there looking for me.”

“What?” Creature asked.

“How do you know they're after you?” Frankenstein asked.

“Why else would someone I know be at my flat?” Grye told her. He climbed further down the ladder, and sighed. “Either way, I don't think he's seen me. We should wait for him to leave.”

Creature sighed. “One of us has to make sure he goes away, though.” They lowered Frankenstein to the ground. “Let me.”

“Oh! Alright.” Grye nodded, and he stepped aside for Creature to go up the ladder. Frankenstein crossed her arms, and then covered her mouth.

“I'm going to vomit,” she complained.

* * *

“So you haven't seen him all night, Mrs. Herschel?”

“Not at all, Dr. Bryson,” Grye's landlady, Mrs. Herschel, told Bryson. “He hasn't come back since he went out to return your book – oh, you don't suppose something terrible's happened to him, have you?”

“Lord, I hope not,” Bryson said. “I just wonder if he's alright...and if he's got someone with him.”

“What do you mean?”

“The last time one of my friends saw him, he was with someone else, and we're looking for her, too.”

“Not Miss Conklin?”

“No, I'm afraid not.”

Mrs. Herschel thought a moment. “I'm sorry, I don't know anything.”

Bryson sighed. “It's alright. I'm sure he'll come back somehow.” He was about to ask her if he could come inside – he wanted to wait for Grye to come back, too – but then large footsteps came out of the alley beside the building, and he looked to his left to see Creature there.

“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Herschel exclaimed.

“Creature,” Bryson addressed them casually, turning fully towards them. “Have you found her yet?”

They shook their head. “No. Do any of you Lodgers have a lead?”

“No, but Miss Flowers has sent out some of her trackers. We'll find her soon,” Bryson said.

Mrs. Herschel looked confused. “Trackers?”

Creature nodded. “I see. I'll keep an eye out for them.”

Bryson nodded. “I'll just contact a mutual friend of ours, so I'll know where the two of them went.” He then patted Creature's hand. “And, uh, good luck in finding her.”

“Right...” Creature said, unimpressed.

Bryson nodded, his smile faltering, before he turned towards Mrs. Herschel once more and nodded politely. “I'm afraid I must go.”

“It's alright, dear,” she said.

He spared her one last glance, before turning towards the street and calling a cab. In a few minutes, he was gone.

* * *

Creature watched Bryson leave, and then turned back towards the alley with the open manhole. They then looked down inside, and gestured for them to come up.

Grye let Frankenstein up first, and Creature helped her up too, before Grye finally ascended the ladder, and the three of them were out.

Mrs. Herschel, who had seen where Creature went, now looked shocked, and then ran towards Grye. “Dr. Grye!” she exclaimed, before stopping in front of him. “Where have you been? Dr. Bryson was looking for you!” She then looked Frankenstein and Creature up and down. “And who are these people?”

“I promise, I'll explain everything to you,” he replied. “But first, I have to go up to my flat and wash up.”

“You must,” she said. “You smell terrible.”

He laughed a little, before pointing at the two next to him. “And do you mind if they come with me inside?”

“...” Her smile was now frozen.

* * *

“So that's how it happened,” Mrs. Herschel said as she poured a cup of tea out for Grye. “I'm just surprised you managed to come back in one piece after going through an ordeal like that.”

He picked up his teacup, and blew on it a little, listening to the sound of the shower running in the next room. “It's no big deal; getting grazed by a shotgun is something people can survive, after all.”

“ _Oy vey_.” She rolled her eyes. “I meant that woman. She caused a lot of trouble for you, didn't she?”

“I don't speak that way about my guests, Mrs. Herschel,” Grye said, before drinking a little. Once he put the teacup back down, he looked back at her. “And besides, I don't mind if she gave me a little trouble. I want to help her.”

Mrs. Herschel sighed, and then patted his shoulder. “You're too good for your own good,” she said. “I would warn you about the farmer and the viper, but I can't stop you from doing anything you want to do.” A pause. “...Though I do hope your other guest won't crush the floor beneath him.”

Grye looked at the Creature, who was looking out the window at the street. They were sitting on the floor, on a blanket amid some pillows. Grye then turned back to Mrs. Herschel. “I'm sure it'll be fine,” he assured her.

She shrugged. “Well, if you're sure,” she said. “I'll call Dr. Esperanza like you told me to.”

Grye nodded, and then went back to his tea while Mrs. Herschel left him with it. In the room next to him, the shower continued to run.


End file.
